Pastor's Desk Archive (April 2007)

Up to Jerusalem (4/1/2007)
Born Again, Sealed by the Spirit, Welcomed to The Table (4/8/2007)
We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight (4/15/2007)
Jesus Asks: "Do you love me?" (4/22/2007)
Offering Mass for the Living and the Dead (4/29/2007)

Up to Jerusalem (4/1/2007)

With glad shouts of Hosanna, we embark on yet another Holy Week. If we are truly seeking to break away from the crowd to become more faithful disciples of Jesus, we will do our level best to participate with devotion in The Three Days!

On Holy Tuesday, the truly devout are invited to gather at the Cathedral at 6pm for the Chrism Mass during which the Sacramental Oils are blessed and consecrated. This is also the Mass during which Fr. Jack and all the priests will re-dedicate themselves to faithful service in the Church. Your presence will be a visible sign of love and support for our priests.

On Holy Thursday at 6:30pm we will gather to receive the Sacramental Oils which were blessed and consecrated at the Cathedral. On this night we are commemorating the events that occurred at The Last Supper: The washing of the feet and the institution of the Eucharist. This is also the night on which we welcome into full communion with the Catholic Church those who were baptized as Protestants. They will profess their faith, be confirmed, and welcomed at the table of the Lord. Being confirmed also on this occasion will be a few Catholic adults who didn’t get a lot of religious formation after first communion. Following this Mass there will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until midnight. "Will you wait one hour with me?"

On Good Friday at 6:30pm we will gather to listen to the Passion According to John proclaimed in parts; to participate in the Great Intercessory Prayers; to venerate the wood of the cross; and to receive Holy Communion. This is the one day of the year on which the celebration of Mass is forbidden. As this service concludes, each person or family is invited to approach the cross and venerate it according to custom. This is always very moving.

On Holy Saturday at 8:00pm, we will gather for the Solemn Easter Vigil. This begins with the Service of The Light and The Service of the Word in which we listen to the Story of our Salvation. This is the night on which we initiate our catechumens through the Easter Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. And as we celebrate this first Mass of Easter, we renew the promises of our baptism and are sprinkled with fresh Easter Water.

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Born Again, Sealed by the Spirit, Welcomed to The Table (4/8/2007)

What a great joy it is each year to be able to celebrate the Easter Sacraments with our newly initiated members. This has been the high point of my priestly ministry for nearly 34 years and I never “get used to it” or “take it for granted”. Because of my ministry as pastor, teacher, and confessor, I am humbled by each of the personal stories that uniquely leads each one to the Easter Sacraments.

I encourage everyone who has been a part of our parish family for some time now to seek these new members out so you can personally welcome them and encourage them in the practice of the faith. Surely it builds up our faith to know that each and every year new members want to be part of the life of our parish and the greater church. It is a very good practice to approach people you don’t know or recognize before or after Mass and introduce yourself. Do you find yourself extending the sign of peace to the same “strangers” each Sunday? How simple it would be to introduce yourself on the way out of church. It could be a new member.

To those of you who have celebrated the Easter Sacraments this weekend, know that you are a blessing to me, personally, and to the parish family as a whole. We are honored that Christ Himself has led you to us and we pray that you regard us as a blessing for you. You have each been given a spiritual gift or gifts explicitly for the purpose of serving the members of this parish family. May you soon discover how God would have you play an active role in our community.

I am especially looking forward to our gathering this coming Wednesday evening when each of you will have the opportunity to share with the rest of us your experience of the Easter Sacraments. It may be difficult for some of you to talk about something so personal, but know that by doing so you build up and inspire our faith. If you are able to come to the 6:30 Mass first, then all the better.

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We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight (4/15/2007)

In the Gospel passage on Easter Sunday, we heard that the apostles were skeptical when Mary Magdalene reported that she found the empty tomb. Rather than take her word for it, Peter and the beloved disciple had to run to the tomb to see for themselves. In today’s Gospel, yet another apostle, Thomas, displays disbelief when told by the others that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared in their midst. He insists that he will never believe until he can see the Lord for himself and examine the nail marks in His hands and the wound in His side. It’s not like people rise from the dead all the time, after all. And so a few days later, Jesus appears to them again and this time He walks right over to Thomas so he can see and probe as he wishes. “Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!” Overcome with regret for having doubted, he exclaims, “My Lord and My God!” At this point, Jesus makes a direct reference to all future believers when He says, “Blessed are they who believe and yet have not seen!”

None of us was an eye witness to the Risen Lord, and yet we believe that He is risen, truly risen. And so we are learning to walk by faith and not by sight, and it’s a lifelong pursuit. I have discovered that when I am in the midst of a community of believers I can see the Risen Lord. There was one particular time that I swear I saw Him walk in and out of the room as if out of nowhere. I was in Shawnee assisting at a cursillo for women. One of the leaders was giving a very moving presentation about how real the connection is between the members of Christ’s body. As she spoke, she moved about gently touching participants on a shoulder or a hand. As she brushed by me, I felt an odd sensation and became suddenly aware that Christ Himself had slipped into the room and was walking among us. I looked around for the woman who had been talking but she had disappeared. All I saw was the other women, some weeping, some choking back tears. When I kept looking for where the woman went, I realized that Christ had apparently left the room with her. It was a powerful experience that I will never forget.

Christ is truly risen and He makes His home with us and among us when we live by faith and not by sight. Perhaps you noticed Him while you were offering Mass. Didn’t He promise that if we loved Him and followed His teachings that He and His Father would come and dwell within us and remain with us always? Do not persist in unbelief, but believe.

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Jesus Asks: "Do you love me?" (4/22/2007)

Today’s Gospel reading was a powerful reminder of how forgiving Jesus is towards those who sin against Him. Simon Peter had denied even knowing Jesus three times on the night he was betrayed by Judas. This is the man who just a little earlier had declared bravely his willingness to die with Him. In this passage which depicts the resurrection appearance by the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus provides Peter with an opportunity to publicly repent by asking him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Each time he professes his heartfelt love for his teacher and Lord.

How often have we sinned against Christ through pride, greed, envy, jealousy, lust, laziness, or gluttony? How about our acts of rebelliousness and disobedience when we insist on doing what we want rather than seeking His will? Have we been telling others in recent weeks how firmly we believe that Christ is Risen? Or do we even respond half-heartedly at the beginning of Mass when we are greeted with those very words?

How grateful we can be that on this very day, Christ, with the full knowledge of our many failings, gives us yet another chance to repent by asking, “Do you love me?” Didn’t we respond “Yes” when we showed up to celebrate the Eucharist instead of staying home like so many others? Didn’t we say “Yes” again when we listened with great attention as He spoke to us through the scripture lessons? And we said “Yes” also when we professed our faith, sang His praises, and lifted up our hearts to give Him thanks and praise. Each time we respond positively to the many invitations He gives us to be His faithful followers, we are, in effect, saying, “Lord, you know that we love you”. Let us pray for the grace to keep saying “Yes” throughout the week.

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Offering Mass for the Living and the Dead (4/29/2007)

As Catholics we offer the Sacrifice of the Mass with, in, and through Christ. While His bloody sacrifice on the altar of the cross was complete in itself and unrepeatable, our Mass is a sacrifice of praise through which all who live in Christ may benefit from His death & rising. He became our paschal sacrifice so that all who believe may live in and for the kingdom of God.

It is a praiseworthy practice by which we, the members of Christ’s Body, offer the Mass for the living and the dead. The prayers of intercession are one of the ways in which we do this. The Eucharistic Prayer also contains collective remembrances for all the living and the dead. What, then, is the significance of asking priests to offer the Mass for someone? In addition to being one of the members of the body of Christ through baptism, priests also represent Christ as the Head of that body. In making such requests, the whole Christ—head and members—seeks the love and mercy of God for specific individuals.

The month of May has been traditionally observed as a time for special devotions to the Mother of the Lord. The second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day. It is during this month that we place near the altar a book commemorating mothers—both living and deceased. For those of you who have not already submitted the names of your special mothers, this is the time to do so. Even if you have already done so in the past, you have an opportunity to request special prayers for your mother during the Novena (nine) of Masses beginning on Mother’s Day. If it’s been a while since you last asked to have a specific Mass offered for your mother, the Mother’s Day envelope provides you with an opportunity to do that.

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